General Education Faculty
Ryan Bartelmay
Director of General Education
Ryan has a diverse, artistic background and a passion for teaching. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication Studies, with an emphasis on Film Studies, from the University of Iowa and a Masters of Fine Arts in Writing from Columbia University. His short films have premiered at film festivals around the United States, and he has published fiction in various literary journals. His story, "All This Flatness" won the Short Fiction Contest for Emerging Writers hosted by Boulevard, and "What Happens If You Can't Reach It" was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Ryan has also made a living as a freelance writer, penning film and book reviews, celebrity interviews, and articles for trade business publications. He has taught at Columbia University, St. Augustine College, and Gotham Writers' Workshops. He co-developed the curriculum for Gotham Writers' Workshop's Creative Writing 101 course, and while at Columbia, he co-founded CA/T (Columbia Artists and Teachers), an organization that trains and helps MFA students gain teaching experience. At Kendall, he teaches English composition courses as well as oversees the general education program and its faculty.
Loren Hildebrand
Computer Science and Math Instructor
Loren joined the Kendall College faculty as an adjunct instructor of Mathematics and Computer Information Systems in 2006, and was appointed to a full-time position in 2009. He taught Mathematics and Computer Science classes at East-West University for five years prior to coming to Kendall College. He has over twenty years experience in the Information Technology field, including fifteen years as a senior database administrator at his most recent IT position. While working in the Information Technology field, he taught classes to application programmers on database programming procedures. He earned a B.S. in Information Science, with honors from Northeastern Illinois University and a M.S. in Computer Science from DePaul University.
James Morski
Math Instructor
Jim Morski is a graduate of DePaul University with an M.A. in math education. Upon completion of his graduate work, he began teaching developmental math at Wilbur Wright College in Chicago, where he helped redesign the curriculum and structure of the developmental math program. Jim joined Kendall’s faculty at the beginning of 2011. He teaches math as part of the general education program. In addition to his teaching experience, he has an extensive background in one-on-one math tutoring and test preparation. He has worked with numerous families and students to promote good study habits and improve standardized test scores. Jim’s academic interests include helping to develop a straightforward, transparent understanding of math, especially for those students that have struggled with the subject in the past.
Randi Russert
English and College 110 Instructor
Randi Russert joined the General Education Department at Kendall in 2009 after 5 years of teaching English and First-Year Experience courses at Harry S Truman College, where she was also the Professional English Tutor for the TRiO program, working with ESL, disabled, and economically disadvantaged students. She holds a B.A. in English-Writing from Winona State University and M.A. in English-Literature from DePaul University. As a result of her graduate coursework at DePaul and beyond, Randi was acknowledged as a research assistant in the historical text, Thomas Jefferson's Scrapbooks: Poems of Nation, Family & Romantic Love Collected by America's Third President, which was edited by her former professor, Dr. Jonathan Gross. Prior to teaching, Randi worked as an editor in both the legal and medical publishing fields. In addition to her love of education, she also has a passion for helping homeless pets and is actively involved in several of Chicago's animal welfare organizations.
Phuong Thai-Garcia
Spanish Instructor
Phuong Thai-Garcia came to Kendall in 2009 from Lake Forest Academy, where she was a Spanish instructor, dorm head and salsa coach. She has also taught at UCLA and assisted Pitzer College's Summer Institute of Language and Culture, where she worked with both teen and adult students. She graduated from Pomona College with a B.A. in Spanish and UCLA with an M.A. in Spanish with an emphasis in linguistics. Her academic interests include student motivation and using technology to enhance learning. Passionate about language, she is committed to providing an enjoyable and rewarding experience for all language learners.
Phuong.Thai-Garcia@kendall.edu
John Zimmermann
Ph.D., Professor
John Zimmermann has 38 years at Kendall teaching a diverse range of courses in the humanities and the social sciences. John has had many years of administrative experience, currently serving as Dean of College Programs. John is a member of the Jesuit honorary society, Sigma Alpha Nu, has served on the Board of Higher Education of the Northern Illinois Conference of the United Methodist Church and the Council of Member Institutions of the University Center of Lake County. Before coming to Kendall, he was involved for three years in historical research and fund-raising for the American Bible Society. His research manuscripts were incorporated into a book entitled The Word Carrying Giant which was written by Kenneth Scott Latourette of Yale University and Clayton Lacey of Duke University. John has edited editions of Louis Hopfe's Religions of the World for Macmillan Press and has been an ecumenical adult education speaker in area religious institutions. He was a recipient of the United Methodist Exemplary Teacher Award and holds the rank of Professor.
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